The first glimpse at Studio Ghibli‘s new Ghibli Park attraction, which is set to open in Japan on November 1st, has been released.
With a teaser film and a series of photos shared to the company’s official Twitter account, the renowned animation studio announced the new park. The film opens by showcasing a number of other well-known historical sites in Aichi, Japan, in which the park is now being built. The film concludes with a detailed look at one of the theme park’s newest highlights, a meticulously screen-accurate reproduction of Satsuki and Mei’s home from My Neighbor Totoro. The Totoro area of the park will also have a reproduction of the movie’s temple and the walk leading up to it, and a 17-foot tall sculpture of the film’s eponymous figure that children may play within.
『ジブリの大倉庫』の目玉です。 pic.twitter.com/w6GsIgaGdc
— スタジオジブリ STUDIO GHIBLI (@JP_GHIBLI) January 27, 2022
The Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, will be nearly four times the size of the theme park. The park will also include a reproduction of Princess Mononoke’s hamlet and locales from Kiki’s Delivery Service, in addition to the Totoro section. A fixed replica of Howl’s Moving Castle, including one of the airships from Castle, will be on display. The Giant Ghibli Warehouse, which is designed after the world of Spirited Away, will also be housed at the property.
Ghibli Park was first mentioned in 2017, with an initial opening date of 2020. The theme park is being built at Aichi’s Expo Park, which formerly held two official Studio Ghibli displays in 2008 and 2015. It also hosted The World’s Fair in 2005. Ghibli Park’s funders have confirmed that they wish the attraction will entice both internal and overseas visitors; however, Ghibli fans might just want to hold off on making any travel plans for the time being, as Japan has placed constraints on global tourism into the country following the recent COVID-19 epidemics.
Toshio Suzuki, a producer, and famed animation filmmakers Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki created Studio Ghibli in 1985. The studio has created a slew of highly praised animated films, the most prominent of which being Spirited Away, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for the first time in 2001. Miyazaki is now focusing on his next film, How Do You Live, which is based on Yoshino Genzaburo‘s 1937 novel of the same name. There is currently no set release date for the film.
